Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-10

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people say that in the digital age, theatres and cinemas are no longer important as people can watch all the entertainment they want online. Others argue that theatres and cinemas are still important both economically and culturally.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

It is believed by some people that there is no longer need of cinemas in the digital age, because now individual watch all entertainment they want online. While others argue that theatres and cinemas are still important for economically and culturally. This essay will discuss both views in the upcoming paragraphs.

On the one hand there are a lot of benefits watching entertainment online. Firstly, movie tickets are also effect middle class and while watching movie food which is purchased from outlets it is too expensive as compare to outside food. Therefore, it is affordable for common people to watch movies online and get entertain at home in free time and also save cost of transportation thats why people save money in various ways. Secondly, most of the theatres and cinemas are located in the malls and shopping complexes so, when people going to watching movies they get influence from advertisements of clothes and home equipment and spend money on them.

On the other hand cinemas are important both culturally and economically in the various ways. Firstly, if people stop watching movies in theatres it efefct economy very badly because all movie makers earn from cinemas by sell their movies to theatres. Moreover, movies are also part of culture for instance, with help of this people from other communities sit together in the cinemas and watched movies which linked to unity. So thats why it also effect socially.

In conclusion, individual save money in various ways by watching movies online. However, watching movies in cinemas still important because it help actors to earn and also it have social impact.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both views and give a concluding preference for cinemas, so the response is relevant to the task. The online-view paragraph offers reasons about ticket and food costs, transport, and spending prompted by mall advertising. However, the economic and cultural case for venues is less fully explained: the claim that filmmakers earn by selling films to cinemas needs clarification, and the example of people from different communities watching together is not developed into a clear cultural impact. Your own position is also only implicit in the conclusion, which mainly repeats the benefits of online viewing before asserting that cinemas remain important. Make your opinion explicit and support each main point with a clearer explanation or example. The response meets the stated length requirement; nine words copied from the prompt were not counted.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. The signposts “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the discussion. Within paragraphs, however, the progression is sometimes difficult to follow because several points are joined without clear explanation. For example, the link between watching films in malls and being influenced by advertisements is asserted rather than developed, and “So thats why it also effect socially” does not clearly connect the cultural example to the argument. Some linking phrases are also mechanical or repetitive. Improve cohesion by making each paragraph’s main point clear, then explaining its consequence, and use pronouns and transitions that refer unambiguously to the idea being discussed.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “digital age,” “transportation,” “economy,” “culture,” and “unity.” There are also attempts to express more specific concepts, such as the cost of food bought at cinema outlets. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, sometimes making the meaning less clear. Examples include “movie tickets are also effect middle class,” “get entertain,” and “it effect economy very badly.” Spelling and form errors such as “efefct” and “thats” also reduce accuracy. Build a more precise set of phrases for discussing affordability, employment, cultural exchange, and economic contribution, and check that verbs and nouns fit naturally together. This would make your arguments clearer and less repetitive.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrastive opening with “While others argue…” and a cause-and-effect sentence beginning “Therefore.” This shows some range, but complex constructions are often not controlled, and errors occur across the response. For example, “there is no longer need” is missing an article, “individual watch” has a subject–verb agreement error, and “when people going to watching movies” has an incomplete verb construction. There are also problems with tense and agreement in “people…watched movies” and “it help actors.” These errors can make relationships between ideas harder to understand. Practise accurate sentence patterns for comparisons and reasons, and check articles, verb forms, agreement, and punctuation when editing.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.